Book Review: Lie To Me by J.T. Ellison

I love when I see glowing reviews for a book, set super high expectations, read the book and it matches my expectation perfectly – I call that a winner or more aptly for the bookish world, a five star read.

Book Description:

You are going to despise me.

I am the rot that lives in the floorboards of your house. I am the spider that scuttles away when you shine a light in the corner, ever watching, ever waiting. I am the shard of glass that slits the skin of your bare foot. I am all the bad things that happen to you.

All that she leaves behind is a note telling Ethan not to look for her. As the police investigate Sutton’s disappearance, the lies the couple have been spinning for years begin to unravel.

Could Ethan have killed his wife? Did Sutton kill the child they never wanted? And will they uncover the truth before it’s too late?

My Thoughts:

Why did I enjoy Lie To Me so much? Because it radiated excitement! It’s domestic noir but it doesn’t follow the conventional pattern these novels usually take and that’s where the excitement came from. The first half of the novel is narrated from Ethan’s point of view, the second half from Sutton’s and my favourite narration of all, weaved in throughout the novel, comes from an unidentified narrator. I’m going to avoid talking about the plot directly because it’s one you need to experience for yourself; the plot does at times transcend what we’d call “realistic fiction” but it’s such an entertaining story that it doesn’t even matter if isn’t wholly believable.

I was engrossed in this novel from beginning to end, and a large part of that is due to the initial unlikability of Ethan and Sutton, when you dislike characters, you believe them capable of all sorts of things, no low is too low, and that leaves the plot wide open and makes knowing the truth mighty hard. While I admit, I did not like Ethan initially, I still had this desire to see him proved innocent so perhaps he was my favourite of the two, maybe because for the first part of the novel, Sutton was missing, and Ethan was faced with the fallout of her disappearance alone. Lie To Me takes you on such a whirlwind of a ride, there were times I found myself empathizing with both Ethan and Sutton and this clouded my dislike of them, showcasing just how layered these characters are and the emotions this novel takes you through.

I did figure out early on who the unidentified narrator was but that didn’t dampen my reading experience at all because I was unable to figure out the ‘why’ and wow, what a ‘why’ it was. I loved the cold and calculated narration from this unidentified person, it brought an element of menace to the plot which raised the stakes in the “game” Ethan and Sutton were knowingly or unknowingly playing.

Everything about this novel worked, it was fast-paced and combined then and now timelines to ensure the reader understood how Ethan and Sutton came to be in their current situation. You see their love, but you also see all that’s toxic in their relationship and that’s what makes things so exciting. Lie To Me is indeed a gripping page turner that will have you flying through its pages!

I was feeling a bit like Domestic Noir wasn’t really “my thing” anymore but this really revived my excitement for it! And yes there were one or two things early on that had me suspicious of a certain someone 😉

I need to talk about this book!!! What was that epilogue. I think it shows how people are who they are at the core despite the promises they make to themselves or their spouses… Or maybe I’m making too much of it! Trying to be non spoilery.